Commanders 7-round 2024 NFL mock draft: New beginnings edition
By Dean Jones
Commanders draft Dallin Hooker
- Tight End | Colorado State Bulldogs
- Round 5 | No. 137 overall
The Washington Commanders need a better plan at the tight-end position. Logan Thomas looks like a prime salary-cap sacrifice with one year remaining on his deal. Cole Turner was perhaps underused in Year 2 of his professional career. Still, banking on the former Nevada star becoming a legitimate receiving threat would be a gamble based on his small sample size.
If the Commanders take a quarterback at No. 2, adding a tight end capable of growing with the young signal-caller is paramount. Free agency could be a good bet for immediate production. But if general manager Adam Peters and his team can find a diamond in the rough later in the 2024 NFL Draft, it would help enormously.
Dallin Hooker is a well-rounded prospect who could go higher than this if someone falls in love with him during their pre-draft evaluations. He's a crisp route-runner with assured hands. His large catch radius makes him a threat in red-zone and key-yardage situations
Hooker is a sound football IQ. This enables him to identify soft spots in coverage effectively and become a nice security blanket in the passing game. He doesn't have what would be classed as elite speed and his blocking needs a little refinement. That said, the Colorado State product makes a ton of sense for the Commanders at this stage of the draft.